Liberty with reference to anarchism, liberalism and Marxism

Abstract

The object of this thesis will be to show, by comparing and contrasting the Liberal, Anarchist and Marxist theories of society, their views on liberty. Underlying the concept of liberty are two factors, the idea of man's rights and the freedom to fulfil his destiny, and that he and society must be protected from his selfishness. Discussion of the ways in which these two factors are reconciled by the exponents of the different doctrines will form part of this thesis. Because of the paucity of direct reference to liberty in Marxist writings, it might be assumed that there is agreement with Liberal and Anarchist views, but it will be shown that this is not the case, and that the scope of liberty for the individual is considerably limited in Marxist society.